Why all the hate on the Matrix Sequels?

[Wicky_42]

Sure it wouldn't make any sense at all, but could you honestly say that otherwise it wouldn't be a good movie?

Well, that would make a film bad for me anyway. If it makes no sense, it's no good.

Ok, that aside: Matrix 1 combined an intriguing story, amazing stunts and kung fu together with well set-up climactic fight scenes paced well against plot and character development. It was incredible when it came out, and the lobby scene lives on for many people as one of the coolest action scenes ever. (well, for me at least

Matrix 2, whilst maintaining the stunts and kung fu, and successfully introducing new characters, suffered from being treated as an obvious setup for part 3. My memories of the non-actions scenes seem pretty much to be merely set-ups for said action scenes, rather than key parts of the plot in of themselves. Coupled with an abrupt and inconclusive ending, the weakness of the plot make it distinctly sub-matrix 1.

Matrix 3 is basically CGI machines ripping apart CGI APUs in a CGI cave followed by CGI Neo flying through the sky fighting a CGI Smith. Seriously, watch the fight scenes from the first one and then the third and tell me that there is ANY comparison between the finely choreographed skill of the first, supplemented by wires, and the boring, Dragon Ball-Z-esq CGI slug-fest of the third. The plot became pretty metaphorical, which I can deal with, but in doing so it lost all the intrigue and interest that the first film had.

They got worse as they went on. The trilogy would have been far better if they'd had the time and resources to make the last two stand apart more, and to be more self-contained. Less gratuitous CGI would also have been nice, especially in that final battle - less flying, more damn kung fu!

 

[Burningsok]

I don't know why but the first just looked more impressive visually then the sequels. It was pretty obvious in the sequels that they used a lot more wires and crap for the fight scenes and it just didn't look good.

 

[Bourne]

The CGI was god-awful, and the fight scenes suffered for it. Had there been more story, and less trite fighting, they may have been better.

 

[Wicky_42]

I think the issue folks had came down to freedom of thought. With just the first movie, so much was left to our minds... the war between machine and man, the nature of reality, everything. So everyone had ideas. Everyone WANTED to put forth ideas. The comics, the AniMatrix, everything this concept birthed came about because we wanted to know more. And like any good film, we imagined because of it. We wondered about the nature of Zion. About the nature of the machines. About how someone/thing like Smith could exhibit a very clear-cut emotion... unbridled rage, spite, and hatred. Even folks who hated it could find things to talk about in it.

The biggest no-no in a magic act is to show how it's done... to ruin the magic and the wonderful questions magic produces. And that's what the sequels did. They revealed what the Brothers viewed as being The Answers. And for a lot of folks, the truth didn't live up to what they had in their minds.

You know what, I think you nailed a significant part of it there. Nicely done

That said, the video games blew total chunks.

Yes. A thousand times yes. Amusing how a game about a virtual world of guns, action and slo-mo punching and shooting could be so bad.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I never had any issues with them. I think the third is the worse of the two sequels actually. I really enjoyed Reloaded.

But, of course as this is the way of Hollywood,[footnote]with the exception of Back to the Future, of course [/footnote] sequels are never as good as the original film.

 

[Lyri]

They get progressively worse because they turn the beautiful and thought provoking first film into a mindless action film about the hero saving the day.
The Matrix was, whilst having action and special effects firmly keyed in thought provoking and intellectually stimulating.
Going through the journey of discovery with Neo as to the truth of the Matrix was excellent, we learnt about a new world with freedoms and endless possibilities.

Second & third film literally becomes "Neo is badass and will win everything."
Once he can beat the agents and control the matrix, the whole fear factor and unknowing has gone.
He was just a dude who seemed out of place in The Matrix, sequals he was Superman on pcp.

 

[Tallim]

I like them, I think the main reason people hate them is they were looking too hard for hard definitions of what happened. I really like movies that leave a margin of vagueness which you can think about and fill with your own ideas.
Most modern movies just spoon feed you everything and that gets tedious very quickly.

Though I also like the movie Snakes so my opinion on the medium is probably forfeit.